connie comes to cali

my dearest friend connie, who i've known for 20 years, came to visit last weekend!  i met this lovely lady back in tucson in a college  history class and we became
fast friends. we spent endless hours together, studying, hiking, clubbing, and she was my tour guide during my first trip to new york city. {she had lived there for a few years}.

that trip and the story surrounding it bonded us for life. after c and i moved to san diego, she and i have made a strong effort to get together once a year. i either go to arizona,
or she comes here. this year, she chose to come to the coast. some highlights of our time together:

- we attended a show at cafe sevilla in downtown san diego which included an 3-course meal with
seafood paella being the main course. we drank fruit filled sangria, enjoyed spanish guitar while watching a flamenco dancer in full costume stomp her feet and clap in rhythm. there was even a belly dancer who balanced a sword on her head while doing a full backbend and split. {connie whispered to me that we could do that if we wanted to - sure I said}. *wink*
- we spent time relaxing and talking - no matter how much we talk every month {and we do often}, there's still more when we get together. we talked about our dreams to travel more and where we want to go, our marriages, our children {her oldest daughter just graduated high school}, aging parents and of course what we are currently reading. connie even found time to read a bit in the backyard. she wanted to be outside as much as possible and reminded me she left 117 degrees back in tucson and was soaking up every second of the 78 san diego temps. she reminded me not to take it for granted.
- we did an old town trolley tour - i used tickets i had purchased for my mom during her recent visit. we never used them as she decided she'd rather spent the entire afternoon in old town wandering the streets and visiting the little shops. connie was happy to be the recipient of them. we started the tour in old town and spent 3 hours being driven all around san diego while the friendly tour guide/driver shared some history of san diego's downtown, our ball park, seaport village,
the historic barrio logan neighborhood, balboa park, and coronado.  afterwards we had lunch at café congress in old town.
and the weather was perfect the entire time...

-outdoor movie night - connie had yet to see the movie musical la la land and i was happy
to help make it happen for her. since this movie is meant to be seen on a large screen,
and because i have a patient hubby who really loves me {and wants our guests to enjoy their time with us}, he set up the oversized screen and speakers again ...something he had done a few
weeks earlier for a group of my girlfriends. i also invited a couple girls over who weren't able to attend the first showing and we gushed over ryan gosling. those of us who know and love the music did our best not to sing along.  we all hope to see this as a musical on stage soon {we've heard rumors it's in the works}.

- the presidio - we spent sunday getting coffee and visiting presidio park. i had been up to the presidio a few times for photo shoots but i had never been inside the museum. i was missing out because it was chock full of history. i am determined to see some more of california's missions over the next few years.

4th of July 2017

since we moved into our mid-century home almost 4 years ago, we have decided
not to fight the crowds at the beach, and stay home and invite friends who also don't
want to fight the beach crowds, to join us in the backyard for a  BBQ/pool party.

every year has been easy and so much fun, so we have kept up this tradition. 


this 4th, we had a nice turnout, with a mix of neighbors and our long-time pb friends.
the kids that came ranged in age from 3 to 15, and only one of those had to wear arm floaties
which made it really nice for the adults. the kids and adults played on a crazy slide
that mr. g built with finn when scout and i were away on spring break. {he knew i
would never approve of it}. we are only half joking when we call it the Slip n Die.
if someone did fall from the top of it onto the pavement, they would very likely die
or be disabled for life. it's about 10' high and well, after several weekends of playing,
i've insisted it be put away. it's too much of a liability. we considered having guests
sign waivers to go down it, but really, it's not worth it. i have encouraged him to build
something a bit less steep or even buying a good old diving board for heavens sake. 
sure diving boards come with risk as well, but i'm not that much of a worrier.
{remember i want a trampoline}.

we had a great day swimming, diving, sliding {those who are fearless}, eating and
drinking too much. some photo highlights of the day:





friendship...how sweet it is

two days before scout and i crossed the atlantic for our spring break vacation,
i received a message from andrea, the  mother's of scout's bestie. she attached
this poem that spencer had shared with her and she couldn't resist sharing with me.
it warmed my heart and made me smile.  i'm not sure if i will see the final version,
but i wanted to save this draft here as a reminder to all of us that friendships are
blessings at any age, and that scout sure has found a great one in spencer.

spencer's in spain

scout's bestie and his family have been in spain for well over a month now,
and i have been thoroughly enjoying reading the blog that his mother,
has been posting to. she announced to us at her last book club dinner that she had started
writing a blog to document her family's one year adventure in spain. she actually started
before she left so she could document all they had to do on the 'front end'.  she asked us
ladies to give our "honest critique" of her writing as she  may consider using it to write a
book about their experience there. we were all happy to.

oh how i loved her idea. a blog would offer SO much more than Facebook or any Instagram
posts she could share.  writing would give all of us us ladies a true idea of what her days are like,
and what her thoughts are on life there. any woman who uproots a family of 5 {it was ALL my friend's idea}, to live abroad in a country where she doesn't really speak the language, excites me
and makes me want to peek into her mind a bit more.  what she did takes lots of planning, patience, courage, a true love of other people and cultures, a bit of faith and the understanding that travel is ONE of the few things in life we can buy that makes our lives richer. 

i am learning so much by following her blog....from the day to day things in her life like where
they shop for food. I've learned there are separate shops for meat, cheese, vegetables and fruit and bread. there is a megastore, similar to Costco. tourists use it, but most locals avoid it.
similar to the US, shopping in these stores is a bit frowned upon as it hurts the local economy - mom and pop shops and the local farmers and their families.  she hasn't been able to avoid it altogether but for the most part, she is trying to live as the locals do and watching her from afar is truly enriching and beautiful.  

i'm also learning how this mother of 3 is navigating her way around the city on trains and buses, about la festa major de gracias, which lasts for a week and goes until 4am every night
{not fun if you live right in the middle of it}, how to cut through all the red tape foreigners experience in order to opena bank account, get an apartment, and even buy a used car.
she explained it all in great detail in her posts. whew!

I was also reminded about the ever important 'siesta'.  this is a huge part of spanish
culture and it's still going strong.  businesses close for several hours every afternoon
{usually from 2-5/6pm}, and reopen around 6pm until about 8pm. this means dinner is
eaten late for all. children are often found in the squares playing soccer until 11pm.

life is different in spain and I'm enjoying hearing about all of it!

i am so tempted to share the link to her blog, but I need to get permission before i do.
in the meantime, i will share this adorable photo of her crew, whom she lovingly calls
'The Adventurers'. she doesn't use their proper names in her blog. instead, she has
given them all nicknames and refers to them as:

left to right: Little Angel, The Scientist, Senor Aventura, Force of Nature, Soccer Dude

life reimagined

one of the wonderful woman in my book group came to june's
meeting sharing that she was struggling with  'middle-age'. 


now this woman is newly 41....the youngest in the group, so we looked at her
with surprise and honestly, some of us chuckled a bit.

she said she was serious, then reminded us that because we were all likely
to live to be 80, we were all technically 'middle aged'. 
wow, i had never even given thought to that. 

one woman said she preferred to call the stage of life we are in the 'middle place'
and most agreed that was a better term.  i announced that i plan on living to 100,
so i haven't hit middle age OR the middle place yet. this won't happen until i'm 50
and i've got a few more years yet.  *grin*




next, she whipped out this book with a yellow festive jacket:

she explained she heard the author, barbara bradley hagerty, on npr discussing her book.
apparently, when bbh she was in her mid 50s, she began struggling with this particular phase
in her life. she felt like she was on a treadmill, grew a bit depressed and wondered why. she had friends who were not just surviving middle age, but actually 'thriving'.  many were older and seemed happier than they'd ever been. she wanted to know what their secret is...what all these people had in common. her book is the culmination of years of research of what she learned and how it helped her appreciate her life more and to look forward to the years ahead.

our friend was so excited about this book and was going to read it regardless if we chose it or not, so we all decided to read our first non-fiction book as a group. we all devoured it and when we met over dinner in july, we literally shut the restaurant down. we talked about this book and other things surrounding it for literally 4 hours! it was chock full of research {i means tons of it}, yet it was a very easy read. barbara shared very personal and intimate parts of her life, which made her vulnerable and relatable. i thoroughly enjoyed it this book and have recommended it to others who are currently reading it. 

i highly recommend to anyone approaching 40, and for everyone 40 and beyond.

if you simply don't have time to read, i'll share the highlights. these are the key factors for thriving in middle age and beyond:

1. find new passions - trying new things in life helps us stay engaged.  it could be music, a new language, a new sport, or a new organization/club. learning something new keeps our brains active. all the research shows that when we are engaged in something new, we are happier....even if we are completely frustrated or struggling with this difficult thing. humans are wired for learning and for challenges. we are happiest when we are lifelong learners.  

2.  find meaning in work/career rather than success - research shows that somewhere around middle age, we realize we are either at the top of the hill, or on our way down. humans everywhere begin to feel an urge to contribute to the world....to genuinely strive to find a meaningful way to give back. some make career changes mid-life or beyond. others are more subtle. they might start a non-profit, volunteer their time, knowledge or resources of any kind to causes they care about.

3. bring novelty into your marriage/relationship - for those who have been married for many years {like me}, this one is really interesting and important.  just like finding new passions for personal growth, in order to keep long-tem relationships thriving, research shows that couples must seek out something new together - hobbies, friendships, travel, etc. the author shared a fun story about how her husband dreamed of renting an rv and travelling to some of the US national parks in it. she was never interested but after seeing all the research surrounding this topic during the writing of this book, she she realized this could be a way to bring a little zest/novelty into their relationship of 15+ years. they went and it did exactly that.  they had one of the best vacations of their life and grew together as a couple. {oh how i loved her story. my other half wants to do this very thing}

 4. engage in life - every bit of evidence says to be engaged in life. it was a huge theme throughout the book. there's no question that we live longer, are healthier and happier when we are true participants in life. sitting in front of the tv, the computer or being alone isn't healthy. people are meant to be with people and to be engaged. what i found truly fascinating in this section of the book was that medical science shows that people who engage in life actually have the ability to change their genetic makeup to a point. not 100% completely - but to a point...and to a point that actually matters.  our minds are so connected to our bodies and SO powerful.  happy people can actually ward off all kinds of diseases. it's fascinating stuff.
 

so there you have it....the cliff notes from life reimagined. i was just thinking how this book would make a perfect gift for someone turning 40 or any age after. it wasn't depressing at all, it actually made me really excited about what's ahead.



celebrations and soccer

scout's bestie turned 9 just a few weeks before his birthday.
to celebrate, his friend wanted to see a professional soccer game.
luckily, chile and mexico were playing at our local stadium.

we made an exception for scout to have a sleepover on a school night,
and scout spent an exciting wednesday night cheering on his favorite
mexican player, javier hernandez, but better known as chicharito
{which means 'little pea' in Spanish}.




of the group that went, scout and spencer's dad, were the only two
rooting for mexico and there were happy to leave the stadium with a 1-0 win.




mr. morton texted me these photos to help scout remember his first
EVER professional soccer game. what a special night it was! 
{he's hoping he can go to one in barcelona next year...me too}  

best buddies: scout and spencer

my best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.
~ henry ford

i am sure i have mentioned the special friendship between these
two boys before in one of my previous posts.

scout and spencer met in first grade and have been inseparable ever since.

they were fortunate to have been in the same 2nd and 3rd grade class as his class 'looped'
{the teacher and class matriculated together}.
i can't begin to describe how grateful i am that this sweet boy came into scout's life.
all i can say is that they are kindred spirits these two.  they share so many things in
common: each has an older brother, are small, play the piano, are the top in their grade,
voracious readers, love math,  are mature for their age and are passionate about soccer.

more than any of these shared interests, what's most special about their friendship
is that they are truly good for each other. they encourage each other 
to make good choices and they genuinely care about each other.

in the last conference we had with scout's teacher, she told c and I {as well as spencer's parents}
that she truly believes their friendship will last through adulthood. what an usual and
beautiful thing to say about two 8 year old boys. time will tell, and my hope is she is right.
that this special friendship will endure.

i'm posting about this friendship today because a BIG event will be taking place next
month that is causing these two boys to be apart for one year.  spencer's family will be
moving to spain, barcelona specifically.  living abroad with her family is something
spencer's mother has been dreaming of doing, so she figured a way to make it happen!
i should note, she's doing it with a family of five too {her husband and 3 children}.
they are renting out their home, the mother is taking a year off from teaching, and her husband
will continue to run his business from abroad.  

though scout and our family has known about this move for no less than 6 months,
it's difficult for scout to talk about even now.  he gets tears in his eyes and tell me
how much he will miss his friend anytime the subject comes up.  my heart breaks for
him.  i acknowledge his sadness and pain, and also remind him that the two can email
each other every day, skype often, send paper letters and possibly even visit.
the sweet morton family extended an invitation to visit next spring.


they'd like for scout to stay an additional week and fly back with spencer's dad as he needs
to come back to the states to check in with his office. i would LOVE to make this happen
and let scout know that if mom can manage to save enough money for even the two of us,
we will go and have a huge adventure in Europe.
{this trip is definitely one way to motivate me to spend less and save}




i will be reporting back through the next several months.

billy elliot

a few months back, i saw rent with my theater loving girlfriend aleyda.
on the program, i saw billy elliot would be the next show and i was SO excited!
i had heard this  musical was phenomenal and with elton john having composed
the music, i knew i had to see it.


aleyda too wanted to see it, so tickets were purchased for us mom and our boys.
we made a day of it, meeting for a delicious lunch and then seeing the show
at the lyceum downtown.

the young boy that played billy elliot was 12 and had an amazing voice.
he's still refining his ballet and tap skills. my favorite song in the show is
electricity. it simply won't leave my head. {and that's not a bad thing}.


here's sir elton john performing electricity with professional dancers
in the background.  ahhh...i get goose bumps every time i watch this.

~ one of the MANY things on my bucket list is to see this show on stage in
london someday.

you have been my friends

i am taking a minute today to share this quote that i found when i was

looking for the right words to share to some special ladies in my life.

because i married young and moved far from my childhood home,

c and i ended end up choosing friends who became our second family.  

a few we met in tucson during our early 20s and we moved to san diego

within a year of each other.  others we met shortly after we moved here.

we shared so much with this group.

like most 20 year olds, we loved to have fun. we spent holidays together,

camped, travelled, threw lavish new years parties, snowboarded, surfed,

learned to swing dance together, had regular game nights, ran in races,
went to concerts, etc.  for a decade of our lives, the majority of our free time
was spent with these friends.


when c and i decided to start a family of our own, things changed.
our lives slowed down. our weekends were spent at home or the beach with
our new family.  our disposable income went to daycare and later to piano and
to sports. am i complaining? not at all. this is the life we were ready for and we chose.
it was very much on purpose.
though i miss these friends, i am savoring the stage of life i'm in right now...
content seeing this 'family of friends' whenever i can.  these days, it is usually
for special occasions like birthdays and the annual 'holiday head' party.

i got together with several of these ladies recently and they presented me with a token

of our friendship. the gift was not just unexpected, but it was beautiful and meaningful,

and yes, it brought tears (to all of us).  this simple quote above from author, e.b. white

captures the essence of friendship so perfectly.   

my life is better and brighter because of dear friends.

and this is truly a tremendous thing.

the joy of a new life

word can not express the joy of new life.
- herman hesse


i received a very happy announcement last night.
my dear friend charlotte's baby boy arrived!
my heart couldn't be happier for her and her husband shawn.

we were just together on sunday for several hours.  we talked and
walked to get a coffee and wondered when he'd make his arrival.
he came a week early and well, JOY is the perfect word to express
his arrival.

meet aidan oliver lantz, born 12/22,

char and shawn won't ever forget this christmas,
the year they received their best present ever.

little lantz: arriving in december

i've been meaning to post forever that charlotte,
one of my dearest girlfriends is expecting a baby boy in december!!
when she shared the happy news, i literally couldn't stop smiling for hours.
{it was early and was glad she gave the ok to share with mr. gerber}

charlotte and I met years ago when we worked at the same architectural firm.
we go way back....pre-kids and before she was even married.  with the exception
of c, she was the first person i told when i got pregnant with finn.

i had always hoped she and her hubby would become parents someday,
and now the day is almost here.  they will be awesome!
the boys are i are so looking forward to loving on their little guy.

here she is with her cute belly and cool airstream in the background.



jay and lauren

my dear and old {but not that old} high school friend
jay tied the knot with a really sweet girl lauren this summer.
i met her last year and well, i haven't seen jay happier.
wishing these newlyweds love, health, happiness!

stay

stay is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary.
- louisa may alcott

tonight i'm thinking about the beauty of friendship...
how special it is to have someone who feeds your soul.
so many things feed me: the laughter of my boys, conversations
with c, reading, playing the piano, time with family, and conversations
with my dear friend aleyda.

over the last several weeks, i've had the pleasure of spending
an entire morning at her home. we talked for hours over coffee and donuts,
and her sweet husband even joined us for some of the time which was nice
as it had been so long since i had really talked.

last night i met up with a again for dinner.
we talked about almost everything, and ended up in barnes and nobles
with coffees. we perused the children's books for a good hour.
i was looking for a book for scout's buddy who is having a birthday this
weekend and aleyda was looking for books for her son.

as we scanned the titles, this book caught my eye
and i excitedly pointed it out to aleyda.

chances are most parents and teachers of upper elementary
grade students are familiar with wonder. it's hugely popular! 

it's currently #1 on the new york times bestseller list and
has been there for the last 122 weeks! it's also what my
book group voted on for the month of april.

i was thrilled because i've had my eyes on this book for over 2 years
and was waiting for finn to be a bit older so he had the maturity to fully
appreciate it. his teacher beat me to it though.  she read the book out
loud to her 5th grade class before the holidays. oh how he loved it.

after giving aleyda a brief synopsis, she was sold.
she purchased a copy to read herself and for her son to read when
he's a bit older.  the next time we get together, we'll both have read
it and will have even more to talk about. yay!

~ finn warned me to have lots of tissue around for this book.
ive heard this book is heartwrenching - very emotional.  each chapter gives 
a perspective of one of 6 characters which allows readers to connect deeply not
only to august, the 10 year old boy with the facial deformity, but also see into the
minds of his parents, his best friend, his older sister, his teacher, etc.
i can hardly wait to start to start reading.

happy easter weekend!

the lovely liz turns 40

there are SO  many things i want to post about but i simply can't get to all of them.
i did however want to post that my dear friend liz, who i've known since our 20s,
celebrated her 40th birthday last weekend!

we had a griffin come over to watch the boys until late.
griffin's sister used to be our sitter, but she's off at college so her little brother now
gets all her sitting jobs. the boys adore him.
{he came with harry potter wands for them to play with last time}.

liz' fiancé threw her a BIG birthday bash that was tons of fun!
it was attended by nearly every friend in our pb group.
{and that's no small feat to get us all together}.
we were all there to celebrate this lovely lady as she said
goodbye to her 30s and hello to her 40s.

i was thrilled to learn the surprise band was her fiancé's new band,
and even more surprised when the birthday girl sang with them!
they played some original material and also did some fun covers. 
listening to them was truly the highlight of my night.

i chose to leave my camera at home because i wanted to party,
but i did snap a photo from a wall that was covered
with my cell from a wall that was decorated
with dozens of photos of liz. here is the lovely liz,
who grows more beautiful every year!

when i got some time alone with her,
i asked how she felt going into this new decade and her answer
made me smile.  she said, she has no regrets and is looking forward
to the next decade.  i loved hearing that. {she understands the secret
of life is enjoying every day and the passing of time}

i look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with this lovely lady.

~ i was SO head over heals with liz and the band's performance that
i asked if they would play in our backyard sometime this spring.
i told her we didn't need an special occasion....just getting together with
long-time friends is special enough.  they agreed!!
{now the band needs to come up with a name} *grin*

christmas cookies

my dear girlfriend melissa contacted me a week before christmas
asking if i was taking some off work before the big day and if the boys might be
interested in baking {actually decorating} sugar cookies with her two kiddos. 

of course i responded, crossing my fingers the boys hadn't outgrown decorating cookies.
since i have a little more room in my kitchen, i offered to host the baking play date!

melissa arrived on monday bearing cookie dough, extra pans, sprinkles and icing.
i pulled out all the christmas sprinkles i'd had stored away and the bin of cookie cutters
i have collected over the last 15+ years....half being acquired when i was in the
big brother/big sister program back in our college days. c tried to get me to donate
them but i refused. i knew they'd come in hand someday.

the kiddos had a blast...the little ones more than the big one. 
finn is on the cusp of the "i'm too cool for cookie decorating phase", but he was a trooper.
kennedy, at 3 now, absolutely loved it and is in the stage where she wants to do everything
by herself, and i mean everything. the psychedelic looking cookies are a results of her
newfound independence and willpower.

we had a wonderful morning...and it was a real treat to have a little girl in our home!

top: logan {6}, scout {7}, kennedy {3}, finn {10}

 

~ to entertain kennedy while the bookies baked,  I dug out the treasure chest
full of loot from scoutie's 5th birthday.  kennedy adorned herself in every necklace
she could find in it and went home with a few jewels on her fingers. *wink* 

holiday head party: 2014

we didn't let another holiday season go by without meeting
for our annual 'head' party. {we almost had the whole gang together}

sidnee and lee were lovely hosts - so much good good and drink!
as always, the gift exchange was lots of fun and we got a good chuckle
when we learned michael and christopher were each other secret santas
and purchased the EXACT same gift for each other....a giftcard to MakerPlace. 

it must be an architect or and engineer thing. *grin*

it's located just 10 minutes away from our neighborhood and perfect
for people who like to make things. they have every tool imaginable,
3-d printers, and even classes for things you might want to make. 
{finn and scout are excited about joining c for his next project}

~ on our way home, finn and scout asked how long we'd known
this group of friends. gosh, long before they were twinkles in our eyes.
{a few since 1992 from our arizona days, and the rest since 1997}.
we're looking forward to lots more celebrations with these folks.

ahhh airstreams

happy friday folks!

my coworker shared this photo with me yesterday
because he knows i love airstreams.
they just make me smile.

i think the allure is they are both retro and modern,
simple and sophisticated all at the same time.
airstreams are just ubercool.

my friend char actually owns two trailers, julius and dottie.
she named her airstream dottie. {my mum got a kick out of this}.
the trailer was her labor of love.  she completely gutted her, had her shined up,
and now dottie is her art studio and sometimes serves as a pop up boutique.

i missed her first big event last month when i was in phoenix
for my heidi's baby shower, but i saved her cute invite and am
looking forward to the next one. i'm SO there!

friends: a staple in life

my girlfriend connie flew out from tucson to visit.
we'd been looking forward to our getting together all summer.
finally the weekend came!

she was ready for a little break from her 2 daughters and
arizona's summer heat, and i was needing a break from work and
some girl time.

we stayed at piersouth, a hotel that just opened last year south of san diego.
connie and I found it near perfect.

it was located far from the super trendy areas of san diego which meant
it was more affordable and it wasn't crowded...the hotel nor the beach
directly out front.

the style was modern and minimal....letting the backdrop {water} be the focus.
all the rooms were large suites and each were oceanfront. you could hear the
waves lapping up on shore from your room.  the bonus, they even had balconies
...perfect for sipping our morning coffees.

i joked that it felt like we were celebrating an anniversary or a big b-day.
we weren't officially, but we were celebrating something special - our friendship.
{we go back 18 years and have stories to prove it}.

we spent the evening and the entire next day eating, drinking,
visiting the pier, swimming, lounging and yes, talking....a lot.

old friends....they truly are a staple in life.
i feel so lucky to have her in mine.

~ i almost forgot, the night before connie flew back home to tucson,
i had an impromptu movie night so she could see what gerber backyard movie
nights are all about.  i invited a small group of girlfriends over and we watched
the other woman and laughed out loud throughout. it was lots of fun!

jackson: having fun turning one

the boys and i are home after a most wonderful vacation.
northern california's landscape was everything i had hoped it would be,
and it was a treat to see my sister and meet my new niece.
{our time together was not nearly long enough}

until i get through the photos, i thought i would post this
sweet photo of jackson enjoying his first taste of sugar.
he made a huge mess...which made for adorable photos.

we had such a fun day celebrating.

~ i have a confession to make regarding this little boy.
when i first held him as a newborn, i literally felt like
i had travelled back in time to 2004 when finn was a newborn.
those memories and emotions flooded me as i sat there holding him.
i shared this with c and he looked very concerned and said "ang,
we talked about this. you can watch him anytime".

i chuckled at him because it wasn't my intention at all to convince him
to expand our family...we decided years back we would be a family of four
{with a possible furry addition someday}. i was simply sharing how surreal
it was holding jackson. i have held lots of babies since my boys were born,
but i've never once experienced strong feelings like i do with him..

i thought about it later and decided it is has to be jackson's resemblance to
finn at that age - the fair skin, blue eyes, the teeny bit of blonde hair, and his petite
frame that brought that surge of emotions on. even now, a year later, every time i
hold him, i still get that nostalgic feeling and smile.

birthday bash for mr. jacobson

we arrived home from mexico and the following
day a reminder popped up on my phone about our friend
paul's 50th birthday bash.  we had rsvpd for it 2 months ago,
but it completely fell of our radar. 

YIKES!!

i quickly secured a sitter for the big night,
dug out a dress i had bought a year ago and had never worn.
i was excited to finally have an event to wear it!

the birthday boy went ALL out for this party.
he booked the entire floor of a fancy high rise downtown,
hired a band, caterers, and hosted an open bar all night.
and what a night it was!

it had been a while since i had that kind of fun,
c and i got home late and completely exhausted.
{man, we are getting old}

here are some of my long long--time girlfriends.

bottom: me, mercedez, danielle, rena
back: james and lori

~ my amazing and dedicated girlfriend kate left this party early 
because she was running a marathon {26.2 miles} the next morning!